Is Japan Cool? 🇯🇵 I am partnering up with ANA (@allnipponairways_official), my favorite Japanese airline, to show you my take on what makes Japan a cool place to visit for their #IsJapanCool campaign.
Most of you know by now that I'm a huge fan of Japan and Japanese food. It's difficult to not love Japan when everything there is crafted to perfection.
Take this Matcha Green Tea ice cream for example. This is one of the most memorable food I had in the many trips I've done to Japan - It's probably the most perfect green tea ice cream with matcha powder at the perfect location in the alleys of Gion in Kyoto.
Matcha is a form of green tea where the tea leaves were grounded finely to form soft green powder. I'm a huge fan of green tea, and this ice cream truly embodies that perfect flavor of green tea - aromatic, slightly bitter but sweet at the same time. Then, to add more to the taste, you can opt to sprinkle Matcha powder on top of the ice cream.
Check out the link in profile to learn more about how Japan is Cool! ⏫ #IsJapanCool#flyANA#kyoto#japan#matcha#icecream

🇹🇼I was definitely on eat-first-google-later mode for this one. My last photo that I forgot to post from my Taipei trip a few months ago. When friends heard I would be staying in Ximending, they immediately recommended Ay-chung. So I quickly googled the location and off we went right after dropping off our stuff at our airbnb.
The place was super small with a very "chop-chop let's go" vibe, but you can spot it a mile away from all the people slurping from the same bowl. As soon as you pay, you just slide a little bit to the left and your warm bowl of noodle will be handed to you in a milisecond. I didn't even have time to refuse the plastic spoon 😐
They only serve the ONE thing here, which is a silky rice noodle served in a thick gravy and as far as I can tell, contains seafood and pork intestines. we ate them all (and enjoyed it). I'm glad I didn't look it up first 👀 The noodles were really soft and slippery so you do need to use a proper soup spoon, or else it will be very challenging to eat. The soup was more like a gravy, the consistency was rather thick but still slurp-able. I loved this type of noodles so I enjoyed my bowl very much!! I got a small bowl but you can get a large bowl as well. After this we had fried chicken, bubble tea and then took a break before having Taiwanese breakfast stuff.... for afternoon snack. @franciak told me she hasn't eaten that much in one go in a long time 😂 #whenintaipei#amirite#girleattaiwan#taipei#shotoniphone

🇫🇷 Day 6 (Last day!) of #TastyTravels with @hotelsdotcom in Paris is Raspberry Brioche à Tête from Stohrer, the oldest patisserie in Paris!
Hands up if you find French Revolution fascinating! ✋🏻 Apparently that famous phrase "Let them eat cake" is a translation from "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche". The phrase is often attributed to Marie Antoinette, though there are no official record of this. It is said to have been uttered in response to her learning that the French peasants were so poor they had no bread to eat. From the original translation it seems that Antoinette was referring to Brioche, a luxury bread enriched with butter and eggs which was scarce at the time of poverty. If true, this reflects the princess' disregard for the peasants, or her poor understanding of their grave situation. Marie Antoinette became the last queen of France before the French Revolution and was later executed under the guillotine. (Not even gonna lie, I know about French Revolution history from reading Rose of Versailles comic book when I was young 🙊)
.
Stohrer first opened up shop in 1730 by Nicolas Stohrer, the pastry chef of Louis XV. He was Polish but came to France as part of bridal entourage of the prince of Poland who was maried to Louis XV. He later opened up his own bakery, Stohrer Patisserie, which is still operational until today.
#shotoniphone8plus#shotoniphone#brioche#briocheatete#paris#GirlEatParis

🍓🇫🇷 Day 5 of #TastyTravels with @hotelsdotcom in Paris features Strawberry Almond Paris-Brest (Paris-Brest Fraise Amande) from La Pâtisserie des Rêves.
Paris-Brest was first created in 1910 to commemorate the cycling event from Paris to Brest, but it became so popular that you can find it in most Parisian patisseries these days. The round shape of it is said to represent the bicycle wheels 🚴🏻‍♀️. This dessert is a must-have when in Paris. It's normally made from choux pastry with Praline cream, but this one I got is a Mother's day special by La Pâtisserie des Rêves where the choux pastry is inverted and topped with fresh Strawberries and extra almonds in the Praline cream. Also, it's prettier 😜
Special thanks to @food_feels for finding this place! This is why I love travelling with foodies.
#shotoniphone#parisbrest#strawberry#paris#GirlEatParis#choux#almond#amande#fraise #🍓

🇫🇷 Day 4 of #TastyTravels with @hotelsdotcom in Paris features my FAVORITE find of the trip. PS: Paris stories highlight are now up on my profile!
This one is Pistachio Chocolate L'Escargot from famous Parisian bakery Du Pain et Des Idees (meaning "bread and ideas"). I almost gave this a miss since it seemed out of the way (closest station was Republique) but do not make that mistake! Lots of you recommended this to me and I gotta say, it's worth every minute spent on the hot paris metro. Also, this neighborhood itself is super cool - I'll write a blog post on Paris soon with recs.
Back to the pastry: as we all know, Escargot means "snail" and that's exactly how the pastry got its name - the whirled shape reminds us of a snail's house. There are other escargot flavors in the bakery but I personally think this combination of Pistachio and Chocolate is genious. I don't know what kind of magic they do and I definitely do not want to know how much butter was used, but their pastry is always so warm and buttery and oh so flakey.
I loved the bakery so much that when @thenaughtyfork landed in Paris later that day, we went back to this bakery. I tried the apricot pastry on my second visit and it was also delicious, though the pistachio escargot holds a special place in my heart ❤️ If you arrive in the morning, expect a long but fast-moving queues out the door. arrived at 11am and there were already queue forming up to the street, but I waited no more than 5 minutes. Be warned that they don't operate on weekends. #shotoniphone8plus#shotoniphone#escargot#pistachio#paris#GirlEatParis

🍦🍦🍦🇫🇷 Day 3 of #TastyTravels with @hotelsdotcom in Paris was filled with even more amazing food and ice creams. More on my Paris stories highlight which you can now see on my profile.
The weather in Paris has been hot 29C every day with strong strong sun and no clouds in sight, so... I made the girls walk all the way from Saint Germain to Saint Louis island for some much-needed ice cream. 😂
After my last gelato post from Amarino, many of you recommended me to go to Berthillon for "the best ice cream in Paris", made from all natural ingredients and still produced daily on site.
I got Noisette (hazelnut), Rose Framboise (rose raspberry) and Vanilla. I gotta say, I did not expect this but my favorite flavor ended up being the Vanilla. Apparently, although the shop sells many flavors (i counted 40 when I was there), Vanilla was the favorite flavor of the late Raymond Berthillon, founder of Berthillon ice cream shop. It was just simply the most flavorful vanilla ice cream I've had - you can even see tiny flecks of vanilla bean in the ice cream! #TastyTravels indeed 😋
.
#paris#icecream#berthillon#shotoniphone8plus#shotoniphone #🍦 #🍦🍦🍦 #GirlEatParis

🇫🇷 Day 2 of #TastyTravels with @hotelsdotcom in Paris! There are so much good pastry here that I've literally been eating them all day.
I was so jetlagged last night that I passed out before the sun even set (which is like at 11pm here!) and consequently woke up very early at 4am. So I took the first metro at 5:45am to Eiffel Tower for sunrise. I arrived at 6am and the place was EMPTY! well, except for couples shooting their bridal photos.
And of course I brought my macarons... for breakfast 😂! These are from Pierre Hermé, a crowd's favorite when it comes to macarons in Paris. I got the Rose, Ispahan and Jasmine flavor, also Jardin Andalou (not pictured but it's mandarin orange and raspberry). surprisingly Jasmine was my favorite even though I tend to not like flowery fragrant flavors, but this one was perfect! What I like the most about Pierre Hermé is that the taste of their pastries are not too overwhelmingly sweet. A must try when you are in Paris.
#shotoniphone8plus#shotoniphone#eiffel#paris#macaron#pierrehermé#pierreherme#GirlEatParis

🌹🇫🇷🍦 Day 1 of #TastyTravels with @hotelsdotcom in Paris. Hotels.com has discovered that the city of love is the world's most loved foodie destination, and they have sent me here to enjoy all of its culinary delights!
It's been nearly eight years since my last visit to Paris so I have lots to catch up. I have always wanted to try the rose gelato at Amorino, known for their beautiful rose-shape, scooped meticulously petal by petal for you. This is the classic cone but they have an option to add mini macarons on top... and of course I took them up on it 😬 I got the raspberry and cassis gelato with pistachio macarons.
Amorino has many branches in Paris but I love this one at Rue de la Huchette as it's close to many other spots - Notre-Dame cathedral is only a few minutes away, and the area is filled with cute shops and trendy cafes. Paris is such a walkable city so I recommend taking the metro to Saint Germain des pres and walking over while checking out cute streets like Rue de Buci and Rue Saint-Andres des arts along the way. btw, there is also an Amorino at Rue de Buci if you really can't wait 😉
#shotoniphone8plus#shotoniphone#amorino#gelato#paris#girleatparis

🏮🏮🏮#latergram from my visit to Taiwan a month ago.
Taro Rice Balls dessert at JiuFen Old Street (九份老街), aka the Spirited Away village in Taiwan! Although there has been no official confirmation that this place is the actual inspiration of the famous Japanese anime Spirited Away, I can definitely see the resemblance. There are tons of red lantern , tea houses and cute shops along the old street.
Jiufen is only an hour ride away from Taipei by taxi. If you are traveling in a group of 3-4, I suggest just taking a cab - you'll save time and hassle compared to taking public transport and not very expensive. Jiufen has garnered a lot of interest in the recent year so there are tons of visitors during the day. It is not that big, you can definitely just do a day trip, but if you have time I would highly suggest staying the night so you can explore when there aren't many other tourists around.
Taro rice ball is pretty much synonymous with Jiufen. It is a bunch of soft, chewy glutinous taro rice balls inside a slightly sweet soup. You can have it cold or hot - I chose cold since the weather was pretty steamy when I went. I got mine from Ah Gan at the top of the hill, where you can enjoy yours while overlooking the bay below Jiufen or you can walk down the step and explore the area while enjoying this snack!
Definitely a must visit while in Taiwan.
#GirlEatTaiwan#shotoniphone8plus

🍦🇯🇵 Hello from Tokyo! if you have been following my instagram story, you will know that i've been in Tokyo for the past week. I don't have too many #girleatworld stuff to share because I was working remotely on this trip, but i have one to share today!
Harajuku is known for everything outrageous about Japan - from colorful street art to cosplay fashion to creative food. But after being horribly disappointed by the expensive rainbow cotton candy in Harajuku (I dunno what I was expecting really), I had to steer away from Instagrammy food and go for a true and tested one. This Zaku-zaku ザクザク shop had a line going so I joined - thankfully the line moved fast! "Zaku-zaku" is Japanese onomatopoeia for something crispy/crunchy (I swear, Japanese people have sounds for everything). As soon as you enter the shop, you can smell a delicious buttery sweet and savory aroma wafting in the air - similar to caramel popcorn but BETTER. This place is actually famous for their creampuff, filled with Hokkaido cream which is made fresh on the spot and coated with their crispy 'croquant' made from baked almonds. But the Harajuku store also has an ice cream version which is exclusive to this branch. And because it was a warm day, I got the ice cream!
I think the ice cream itself was just average though, especially for something that claims to use Hokkaido ingredients, but the almond croquant and the ice cream cone was... O.M.G delicious!! I know it's weird talking about parts of ice cream that isn't the ice cream itself but the almond croquant just complements the vanilla ice cream really well. It's also not sickeningly sweet which I always appreciate from a dessert. I seriously contemplated having a second one 🤤 I want to try their creampuff next time.
So if you are ever in #Harajuku, skip the overpriced Instagrammy snacks and try this one instead! #GirlEatJapan#girleatworld#shotoniphone8plus
PS: the ice cream comes with plastic spoon but i asked them to not give me the spoon! #lesswaste

Fuzhou Pork Pepper Bun (Hu Jiao Bing 胡椒餅) at Raohe Night Market in Taipei.
I wrote a long list of food recommendation for Taipei on my blog 👆🏻 BUT this pepper bun might just be my favorite one among the entire list. I found the famous Fuzhou Pork Pepper Bun at Raohe Night Market, where the bun is baked en-masse by sticking the dough, filled with peppery minced pork, to the sides of a large cylindrical oven.
The result is a very tender, juicy, and very peppery pork bun. I’m a huge fan of pepper so I was sold from the first bite. Fuzhou Pepper Buns is the very first stall you see if you enter Raohe Market from the North East side, next to Songshan Temple.
Hat tip to my friends @o20ne and @michael.paravati for this recommendation!
#shotoniphone8plus#girleattaiwan

What's a visit to Taiwan without sipping on Pearl Milk Tea #amirite
When I was living in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, Pearl Milk Tea, aka Bubble Tea, aka "Boba" somehow gained popularity and became the hottest thing. But I remember my Taiwanese friends would tell me that Boba is not anything new to them - in fact, the concept of Bubble Tea was invented in the 1980's in Tainan, a city in south Taiwan.
Pearl Milk Tea is a milk tea drink with tapioca balls added to the bottom of it. The tapioca balls are often white (though there is a black variation as well) which resembles pearls, hence the name. The original pearl tea was simply just black tea mixed with milk and tapioca balls, but since it became popular, it has sprouted new variations which include fruit-flavored juice (such as passion fruit, strawberry, mango, lychee, etc) and ice blended base. In the recent years, it has also become a trend to be able to pick the level of sugars so you can feel slightly better when you are sipping on your milk tea. I personally think the traditional pearl milk tea with full sugar is still the best one though 😛
Some of you might remember i posted this on my instagram story after a bit of rant on unnecessary plastic usage. In a bid to reduce my one-time plastic usage, I usually refuse straws and bring my own cups for takeaway coffee. But when it comes to bubble tea, I couldn't refuse the straw bc you are supposed to sip on the bubbles through a large straw! A follower of mine (@chuepachups) then informed me that you can actually buy a large reusable straw that accomodates bubble tea. That got me curious... Are you aware of your plastic usage too? What are your tips on reducing waste while travelling? Let me know by commenting below 👇🏻 I would love to hear all of it! I've pinned my basic tips in my story highlights ;)
.
#ShotOniPhone8Plus#Boba#PearlMilkTea#BubbleTea